Photo Snapped in the 1950s Takes On New Meaning After the Two Make a Goosebump-Inducing Discovery

A photo snapped of two childhood friends in the 1950s has taken on a significant new meaning after the two made a chilling discovery — they are biological brothers.

According to the National Post, the photo captured the two Canadian friends — 11 or 12 years old, at the time — smiling at an Ottawa beach approximately 60 years ago.

But, it wasn't until last year that Duncan Cumming, 72, and Ron Cole, 71, learned that they were siblings.

Ron Cole, left, and Duncan Cumming, right, on a beach in the 1950s. The two recently learned they are biological brothers. (Image source: Ron Cole via National Post)

The two friends, both raised by adoptive parents, lost contact as children when Cole moved away a couple years after the photo was taken, the Post reported.

Now, more than half a century later, the two are planning a reunion after being contacted by an organization called Parent Finders Ottawa. A coordinator with the organization broke the news to them.

“We were chums in public school for about two or three years, not knowing that we were brothers, Cumming told the Post. "It’s unbelievable.”

[sharequote align="center"]"It’s unbelievable.”[/sharequote]

Coincidentally, Cole said he was shuffling papers on his desk days before he got the call when a folder with pictures fell off his shelf. Included in them was the picture showing the two on the beach in the 1950s.

“I was moving them to get them out of the way. I dropped them, and out fell this picture of Duncan. I looked at this and I thought, ‘Why did I save this picture? What is this?’” the 71-year-old told the Post.

The two had been raised just a few blocks from each other, Cole said, adding that their adoptive parents were unaware the two were brothers.

"[I]t's kind of cool. It's a great story," Cole said.

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